Workshop: Monica’s New Insights

By Sandra Lee

Every year, we give our Rover Scouts the opportunity to complete a personality profile that would help them understand themselves more and learn how to work with others. Prior to taking the Insights Workshop, Rovers are asked to complete an online quiz that they could take at home or at work, somewhere that they can be honest with themselves.

Insights Discovery is a preference-based learning system that uses colours as a common language for understanding self and understanding others.  The Insights Discovery system has its foundations in the work of Swiss psychiatrist Dr. Carl Jung, who identified that we each have 2 personas – conscious and less conscious – and that it is important to understand the dynamics of how these personas interact with each other and the world around us.

At its entry point, the Insights Discovery learning system identifies four colour-energies – Cool Blue, Earth Green, Sunshine Yellow and Fiery Red – and recognizes that we each have all four colour energies within us.

Meet Monica.

Before, during, and after the workshop, Monica had the biggest reaction to her results. It’s been about 2 weeks since we took the workshop, so I thought to interview her to see how she has digested the new information.

 

 

• From your perspective, how is Insights a useful tool for Crew to use? Why do you think we should continue using Insights?

 

Insights allowed me to know myself a lot better: my strengths, my weaknesses, who I am, and how people can perceive me. It focuses a lot on working with each other and learning how to work with other people.  

 

 

• Which dominant colour position did you think you were in prior to seeing the results?

 

I knew that I was Dominant Fiery Red, but I didn’t think that I was going to be that high of Fiery Red. I thought my Cool Blue and Fiery Red were going to be on similar levels (70-80%), but it exceeded my expectation. Maybe it’s because of how people saw Dominant Red people in the Rover Crew (aggressive, loud). Often times, comments I get from other people about Fiery Reds is that they are all pretty direct and “rude”. I didn’t classify myself with those traits, so that’s why I thought I wasn’t that Fiery Red. After seeing my profile and taking the workshop, I realized that it’s not about being rude and loud. It’s about that drive and sense of urgency, to have a tendency to move things along, that is classic Fiery Red.  I guess I didn’t realize that those were the traits I was demonstrating.

 

 

• In retrospect, do you think the way you answered the questionnaire were particularly Fiery Red responses?

 

Yes, very, now that I think about it. I answered the question in a very black and white and absolute manner. I wanted to get things down. I was thinking that it would only take 15 minutes, so let’s finish this and move onto the next thing. I want this to be right and to describe myself best. Go go go go.  

 

 

• How did you feel when the results showed that you were 99% Fiery Red?

 

I wouldn’t say it was a bad surprise. I now look at myself at a different way. I was very afraid to admit it to myself at first. I was definitely trying to deny it; trying to think of reasons why I’m not, and convincing other people that I wasn’t this person. I was scared, but after reading through the profile and attending the workshop, it became easier to accept that I was Dominant Fiery Red. Not that it is bad to be this colour, but there was the association that told me it was bad. The truth is though, that Fiery Red is just  one type of characteristic. It just outlines what’s different about me, and I shouldn’t shy away from that.

 

• What kinds of strengths has Insights uncovered for you that you didn’t know before? Which strengths were delightfully confirmed?

 

I wouldn’t say that Insights had uncovered anything, but it was more like it had phrased my personality in a way that allowed me to get a better understanding of who I am. I had always been the type of person who had an insane drive. If I wanted something, I will go at 100% to achieve it. I will do whatever it takes to get what I want, but prior to taking Insights, I didn’t want that to show. I wanted to cover up this drive and hide my intensity. I told myself that maybe I could tone it down. After Insights, I told myself that this is just who I am. It’s not natural for me to be softer. I could try my own version of Dominant Green, but I shouldn’t try to be the typical Dominant Green that people know. I just need to harness this Fiery Redness in a good way and in a way that helps me.

Strengths that were confirmed were that Dominant Fiery Reds are very adaptable. We change according to the situation very quickly. If the target changes, there needs no time to adapt. For instance, I’m the department head for Recruitment . The recruitment target went from 10 new Rover Scouts to join to 20 new Rovers. I wasn’t too  happy about it at first, but I was quick to adapt. I know this target is harder to achieve, but I’m just going to do it.

 

• How did you feel when you read your weaknesses? Do you think they were fair?

 

I knew these weaknesses were there. I thought they were fair. The profile showed me that these are somethings that I need to change and it’s okay to have weaknesses. One of them was that i jump to conclusions too quickly or make decisions very fast. I would go from A to B, to F. Often times, it can be bad because I wouldn’t wait until the end of the story and make the decisions without being fully informed. Having the profile tell me this made it more meaningful. I’m less reluctant to fix these problems now.

 

• Do you think these strengths and weaknesses are common amongst other people who are Dominant Position Fiery Red, or do you think the test gave you results that were specific to you seeing as there are so many possible variations?

 

I don’t really work with many Dominant Fiery Reds. I do feel like there are definitely common strengths and weaknesses shared, but my answer would be both. We’re very absolute people, very black and white. Yes is yes, no is no, and there is no grey area. It could be good and bad. It depends on the situation. We’re also very literal. We don’t think about meaning and symbolism. That, however, is one of the weaknesses.

There are also a lot of variations. Considering the 3 or 4 other people in the Rover Crew who are Dominant Fiery Red, even with this preference in common, we all have different secondary colours. It makes things more complex. One of our vice-presidents is Fiery Red-Sunshine Yellow, so he’s more vocal and inspirational. He’s more extroverted. I’m not that much of an extrovert. I’m Fiery Red-Cool Blue, so I’m more introverted. Compared to him, I’m also more detail-oriented. When you present a problem to me, I think about how I could fix this and how I could organize this information through methods, charts, and the sort. He, on the other hand, would be looking at more higher-level aspects whereas I deal with things that I could see. How we utilize our preferences has a lot to do with our secondary colour.

I’m sure that other Fiery Reds will answer this question different.

 

• What do you think make people in Fiery Red Positions good leaders in comparison to other colour positions?

 

All colours have the potential to be good leaders.

Dominant Fiery Reds are very decisive. When there are many different opinions from different people in a team presented, Fiery Reds can decide on the spot. Plan A is better than plan B because blah blah blah. We are quick and decisive, and we will push things along.

A lot of the times, we are not afraid of public speaking. We can express our thoughts with little problem. We don’t shy from the crowd or talking to people. We also appear very confident, even if I don’t think I am very confident. Because of that confidence I can show, it naturally makes me look like a better leader. Just by first impression, people can guess that we are not intimidated by other people. I actually like meeting people who come off more intimidating. I love challenges. The more impossible the task seems to be, the more I want to do it. Again, it’s the insane drive.

There is a downside though. We burn out really quickly. I always have to remind myself to take a break. Sometimes I’ll be so in the zone with whatever I’m doing for the Recruitment Department that I forget to take breaks. Maybe I haven’t been eating or haven’t drank water in a while. These basic needs slip away and I will need to actively schedule them in.

 

• What was your biggest takeaway from the Insights workshop?

 

The profile doesn’t define you, you define yourself. You decide who you are. You show your colour in your own way. There are so many different shades of every colour. Just be yourself.

What would you like people to know about you being in a Fiery Red position?

Dominant Fiery Reds are not necessarily intimidating or scary. It’s just a prefered personality that we choose to share. It’s just like a Dominant Green person who empathizes a lot or a Dominant Cool Blue person who is prone to a lot of details. To be fair, this answer is targeted to people who think that being Dominant Fiery Reds carry a negative connotation. I want people to perceive me as a person who is Dominant Fiery Red, not as a person who is rude and doesn’t care about people’s feelings. We’re not always loud. We’re just different people and there is no need to be intimidated by us.

 

Insights Discovery is used globally by organizations such as E-Bay, Boeing, BP, Microsoft and Zerox and in over 150 organizations in British Columbia, including BC Hydro, BC Ferries, ICBC, The Ministry of Health, Vancity, Salvation Army, Great Little Box Co., the David Suzuki Foundation, Trevor Linden CLUB16, OrangeTherory Fitness and She’sFIT!